MLS Regular Season

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The LA Galaxy suffered their worst defeat of the season, but the club received a silver lining as Gyasi Zardes continued his torrid scoring streak.

Zardes scored in the 49th minute of the Galaxy’s 4-1 defeat to the Columbus Crew to bring his goal total to 10 on the season. The 22-year-old second-year forward has now scored in four straight matches to go with nine goals in his last 10 games.

“It’s my teammates, definitely. It’s not just me,” Zardes said of his scoring streak after the match. “It’s the whole combination of play and when we combine I just make that hard run into the box and my teammates just put it right there on my foot and I just put it on frame.”

Despite adding to his scoring goal run, Zardes was unlucky not to add a second in the 83rd minute. With the Galaxy down 3-1, Zardes was unable to get to a Robbie Keane pass that had the forward alone in front of an empty net.

“There were various times in the game when we had opportunities,” Zardes said. “The only difference is they put away their opportunities as opposed to us.”

Although Zardes kept up his scoring streak, don’t expect him to celebrate or dwell on the defeat to the Crew—he’s already set his sights on Wednesday’s match against the Colorado Rapids.

“We are definitely forgetting about this game and just working hard to prepare for Wednesday,” said Zardes.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It's safe to say that this wasn't the Ohio homecoming that Robbie Rogers was expecting.

In his first match against his former club, Rogers was forced to exit in the 64th minute as the Galaxy fell 4-1 in their worst loss of the MLS season. Feeling the effects of a quad injury that he suffered in training on Wednesday, Rogers was forced to leave midway through the second half which led the Galaxy to play three defenders in the back, a move that ultimately resulted in two unanswered goals by Columbus.

"I felt good in the first half, but in the second half I couldn’t play anymore," Rogers said. "I couldn’t move. It’s kind of why I was just sitting back," said I had to go out. I tried to play through that injury. It was effecting too much of the way I was playing. I couldn’t cover ground so I had to take myself out, unfortunately."

Rogers referred his injury status as "day to day" and noted that it is not expected to be a long term thing as he looks to recover in time for Wednesday's match against the Colorado Rapids.

But even though he's hopeful that he can return Wednesday, Rogers was frustrated about his return to Ohio.

"It’s a 4-1 loss. I don’t think we matched their intensity. I don’t think we stepped to press the ball. I don’t think we finished our chances when we created them," he said. "Overall, it’s a really disappointing night because I came back here and obviously you want to beat your friends. I was really disappointed."

ARENA: "[Federico] Higuain had a very good game tonight. His passing was good and their movement was good. In the first half, they clearly out played us and their passing and finishing was better on the night. There were a lot of goals for us tonight, but our passing and finishing was poor. We had opportunities to do a better job getting around the goal and we didn't do it. A lot of the basics, we got beat on tonight. Give them credit."

(On Gyasi Zardes' goal...)

ARENA: "We're going to have a party once we get back to the hotel. No, give him credit, it was a good goal and he probably should have had another one."

(On facing Gregg Berhalter...)

ARENA: "He did a great job. He has a great future in the coaching profession."

(On the Crew honoring Landon...)

ARENA: "I think it is very nice. Landon has had a great career and to be recognized in these markets we go into, it is tremendous. Hopefully, the results don’t all end up like they did tonight, but It was a tremendous gesture on behalf of the Crew. We are very grateful for that."

(On if the pregame ceremony was a distraction...)

ARENA: "It’s going to be happening every time. It certainly looked distracting tonight."

(On Clark’s performance...)

ARENA: "He played well and made some big saves. Our finishing was pretty poor and I remember two or three good saves on Robbie [Keane]. On the night, we were pretty poor on finishing. To his credit, the goal he conceded was a very good finish. He was pretty solid. It was a good game."

On if he was surprised by the Crew’s performance:

I think they are better commenting on it than I am. They probably played their best game of the year. They played very well. You have to give them a lot of credit. We knew it would be a good game. I kind of liked the game that I saw. I thought it was a game that was perfectly suited for our team, but we came up short.

Perhaps the most important matchup of the evening, Juninho -- and midfielder Marcelo Sarvas -- must be mindful of the dynamic Argentine who will seek to pull the LA midfielder out of position and create offense for the attack-minded Crew.

Gyasi Zardes vs. Michael Parkhurst

A battle of blistering speed and intelligent defensive positioning. Look for Zardes to attack Parkhurst early and often as he works in tandem with Robbie Keane to create space in the Columbus defensive end.

WHAT THEY SAID:

"It’s going to be an interesting matchup for us. They like to throw a lot of numbers into the attack and we like to as well. It’ll be important for us to maintain a good shape defensively and pick our spot where we can go at them." - Galaxy right back Dan Gargan on LA's game plan against the Crew.

Courtois, 35, confirmed to LA Galaxy Insider on Friday that he has retired from soccer in order to focus on a career in coaching. The player-coach announced via Instagram earlier in the week, that he'll be returning to France as he seeks to earn his coaching credentials from the French Football Federation.

In 2014, Courtois made 11 appearances for Los Dos while tallying two goals for the Galaxy's USL PRO affiliate.

"It has been an honor to play for a great club like the LA Galaxy over the past year," Courtois told LA Galaxy Insider on Friday.

Courtois hangs up his boots after an 16-year career that included stops in the top leagues in England, Spain, France and the United States. During his time as a professional, the Lyon Academy product played for such clubs as Ajaccio, Tolouse, West Ham United, Levante, and the LA Galaxy.

COLUMBUS, Ohio. --The LA Galaxy kicked off their week-long road trip on Friday morning by training at the Ohio State University.

As expected, the Galaxy brought a full squad for the trip that includes new addition Alan Gordon as well as Galaxy II stalwarts Rafael Garcia, Charlie Rugg and Raul Mendiola. Following training, Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena addressed the Ohio State University Men's Soccer Team, who observed the 90-minute training session.

Landon Donovan will play at Columbus Crew Stadium for the final time on Saturday as he prepares to retire at the end of the season.

Donovan has enjoyed plenty of memories at the stadium for both club and country and because of his sterling career, he'll be honored prior to Saturday's match. In a video for TheCrew.com, Donovan discusses his memories of Columbus and his excitement to play in the venerable stadium one last time.

CARSON, Calif. – The LA Galaxy will be up against an old friend and an unfamiliar foe when they take on the Columbus Crew on Saturday at Crew Stadium.

LA will be facing a Crew team that currently finds itself in the thick of the postseason chance with 27 points which is good enough for sixth place in the Eastern Conference. Leading the Crew is former Galaxy center back and assistant coach Gregg Berhalter, who took the top job with Columbus in the offseason.

“They started off pretty strong, but they hit a little bit of a lull and have come back as of late and have played better,” said Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena. “They’re a certainly a team that goes forward and attacks. As you look at them, you can see that their attacking scheme is built around [Fredrico Higuian] and rightfully so because he’s a terrific player and a great play maker.”

While Arena focused on the specific strengths that Columbus boast, Galaxy attacker Landon Donovan made a broader claim about the difficulties of facing Eastern Conference competition.

“The east games present a different challenge [because] stylistically [because the team’s play is different and we have to make sure that we are well prepared which we will be for Saturday,” said Donovan. “I think inn the west, teams put more emphasis on possession while the teams in the east are more direct.

“When I watch the [Eastern Conference] games, there’s not the same flow to the games as there is in the Western Conference games, it’s different, but we have to adjust.”

LA must use the match against Columbus as a chance to adapt to a different style of play as the club will play five of their last 14 games of the season against Eastern Conference opponents. As Arena’s side seeks to challenge for the Supporters’ Shield, the Galaxy boss believes that taking full points from their Eastern Conference is vital.

“It’s important that we take advantage of those kinds of games,” said Arena. “Because it’s likely that most of our opponents in the west are not getting three points. That’s just probability.